Jesus told us we are to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. And so the Bible Education Centres 
have developed…..reaching out to the community in their environment, where they are and where they can hear the good news we have to share. Every week, hundreds of people walk throu gh the doors of the five BECs scattered throughout South Africa and are encouraged and helped in their searc h for the truth of the bible!
The Durban Bible Education Centre is situated in Mark Lane in Durban city and first opened its doors in August 2006. The still, small voice amongst the hustle and bustle of such a busy place, God is working in powerful and exciting ways at this BEC. Many people pass through to browse or purchase our ever-changing selection of cheap bibles and biblical stock, chat with the people manning the shop or sign up for one of the free bible correspondence courses on offer.
Siste r Mary who works at the BEC most days builds wonderful relationships with the numerous students completing correspondence courses, as they return to have papers marked, ask questions and continue their search for what God’s plan is for their lives. Student graduations held to celebrate the achievement of finishing our courses are festive occasions and ones of real joy shown by people who are touched by God’s word. It also serves as a wonderful opportunity to meet all our enthusiastic contacts who have completed courses and to share a bible message and enjoy a chat, tea and refreshments with them. Our next graduation is to be in November, God willing, when we will be joined by the largest number of graduates at such an event since the BEC began!
Sister Mary (in the red) with some students at the most recent BEC graduation (Clement who was baptised earlier this year is in the yellow on the left of Mary)
Each Friday at 1pm, a lunchtime bible class is run and a regular group of people take time out from their day to visit the BEC and study the bible with Brother David White. Free classes on topics such as marriage, HIV and other life skills are also run from time to time to assist the community and encourage people to visit the BEC.
Every opportunity is presented to our BEC students to continue their studies of the bible (with one-on-one tuition if desired) and get involved in ecclesial activities. Sister Mary regularly directs students to join the Durban ecclesia for meetings and also to attend regular fortnightly classes on Sunday afternoons that are run at Durban as a forum for further learning for serious contacts. For example, on Sunday, two BEC students Terrence and Paul, who are considering baptism, joined us out at Mariannhill ecclesia to witness the baptism of brother Thulani. They had a great day seeing Thulani’s commitment, meeting the youth of both Mariannhill and Lamontville and even participating in a “friendly” (but fiercely competitive!) soccer match that afternoon!
J ust recently, we have welcomed Sister Emily into Durban ecclesia as she decided to commit her life to God as a result of her involvement in the BEC and Durban ecclesia. Sister Emily is just one of many people whose lives are being changed as a result of the work of the BECs. Every day, God is working through the BECs in Durban, Kempton Park, Margate, Yeoville and now the new centre at Port Elizabeth, to call people from our local community to be part of his family.
So what can you do to help this great work?
If you are in South Africa you can contact us and:
- Voluteer to join the pool of local people who work with Sister Mary at the BEC;
- Let us know if you see good bible exhibitions or sales where we could purchase stock;
- Volunteer to run life skills classes or bible classes at the BEC (any skill you have that you feel people in the community might be interested in is of great use!); or
- Get involved with craft activities to create things that can be sold at the BEC to help make this charity-run project sustainable.
If you are in South Africa OR overseas, you can contact us and:
- Donate old bibles or biblical books so that these can be sold for a cheap price at the BEC (this is frequently requested as, although we keep our prices very cheap, many of our customers are very poor). If you are local, we can arrange to have these books up from your house or ecclesial hall and if you are overseas, postage or other arrangements can be made;
- Donate towards or give suggestions as to ways we can obtain good first principles books for serious students that are perhaps too expensive for us to purchase through ordinary channels; or
- Donate money to go towards the running of the BEC by going to www.gnotkog.org and easily setting up a regular monthly donation. No matter how small, your donation will greatly help in the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the BECs and other 2010 projects.
Leah Egginton, Durban BEC Coordinator
Email: leah.egginton@gmail.com
Phone: 071 133 2206 (from overseas +2771 133 2206)
Postal address: PO Box 374 Pavilion, Westville 3629, KwaZulu Natal, SA
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